New National Requirements For Energy Efficient Light Bulbs!

7/8/09

A.P.

It is a good day for Energy Efficiency! President Obama recently announced the new national minimum energy efficiency requirements for light bulbs. The new requirements will make the hundreds of millions of fluorescent tube lamps that light offices, stores, and factories more efficient, not to mention the millions of reflector lamps sold each year used for flood lighting and spot lighting. According the Department of Energy, the new standards will save up to 1.2 trillion kilowatt-hours over thirty years, an amount about equal to the total consumption of all homes in the U.S. in one year. Businesses and consumers will gain up to $35 billion in net savings and global warming carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by up to 594 million metric tons, an amount equal to the annual emissions of nearly 110 million cars.*

For more information, see ASAP/ACEEE/NRDC press release.

Click here to read the DOE final rule

Click here for the full White House announcement

* The President's announcement cited 594 million metric tons as equivalent to the emissions of 166 million cars. It is likely that their calculation used a higher mpg per vehicle (e.g. 30 mpg).